So I wrote and produced the music in March, and gave it the title then. So it sat for four months, and suddenly I came up with these lyrics to fit the title, and pretty much immediately thereafter sang and recorded it. I somewhat surprised myself, and considering it is sort of an odd song all around, am further surprised I think out of the chaos or whatever sprung a song I like to listen to.
Anyway, any and all criticisms accepted! Is it finished as is? And what kind of music is it exactly and why?
I counted 27 songs I’ve created and worked on this year so far, which seems like a lot more than I was thinking I had. I’m having to relisten to many of them as the exact song idea is momentarily forgotten. And by that endeavor I stumbled on Waves of Nostalgia, and that is the backstory.
I’ll do my best to check out what all is in BTR in the near future as I am slightly behind I must say.
Ok, from the description I didn’t expect that much!
There’s lot of things happening and lot of different feelings and references.
The vocal reminds me of the all The Wall album, I don’t if it’s a reference to you or not it sounds really obvious to me.
The really first thing is I don’t really understand what the song suppose to be. Sections aren’t any obvious, there is no verse/chorus thing; some elements try to catch the lead (and sometimes fight to get it).
Mixing-wise, the balance seems quite raw and drums (for instance) sound lost where the song is more intense…
And the end, the song is messy to me and I didn’t catch the point of the song
By the way, I should recognize that I did lot of work putting all those parts together. Congrats to share all of these!
I think I do reference Roger Waters in the style, especially the vocals. I consider that a compliment!
Here are the lyrics. I call this faux rock wisdom, where there is a fuzzy existential question and equally fuzzy answer framed in some fuzzy event, in this case a rush of nostalgic memories about something pleasant. I think they are happy ones, and it makes me feel better, as opposed to dwelling on the darker side of the past. My end point is even though we all have bad memories, it’s OK to try not to dwell on them, and focusing on the good times will make you feel better, which seems obvious.
I am not a great mixer, I like to pan a little, and I tried to get the levels to get along, but it is very raw.
Waves of Nostalgia by Steve Bancroft
There must have been some accidental incidental event
That triggered the rush of memories that ensued that day
I cannot tell you what it was or might have been
But it is primarily inconsequential in the grand scheme of things
Inside we all live among our memories
They hang like paintings in all the open spaces
Vying not to be forgotten, perhaps to be embellished
Depending on what other memories will have to say
What are these happy memories
They all came to an end
Does it make you feel good now
Because you felt good then?
And where are all the sad times
You know they’re still hiding in your mind
They seem to be under lock and key
While the good times are easy to find
So don’t decline to embrace what you feel
Remember that only the present is real
The past can’t be changed and the future is unknown
And savor the moments we have alone
Thanks for your reply and for writing all those details.
I did get what lyrics or lead vocal have to say (and thx for bringing lyrics!) but as the song is playing I didn’t know what is driving it: is it lead vocal (like most songs), is it lead guitar or lead synth?
If it’s the lead vocal (as I think) other parts want to it at time and make it difficult to understand. In other words, the lead vocal lacks of room to be right spot on. And to get its room it needs to get some from other parts.
Well, I hope you get the point
Get the “right” panning isn’t easy, the obvious use of panning is hard left and right where two instruments are playing in unision (like two distorted guitars, two synths playing the same part…)
Otherwise, you have to think that if you put that on the left side what could counterbalance it on the right side…
Level-wise, automation is a great tool to make room and keep dynamic of the song. If you have no idea how to do this, you could duplicate the track and make one track quieter than the other then switch from one to another (or cut files) to get some volume automation.
By the way, very interesting song.
Don’t give up and try those ideas in another song to increase the end result.
